household
Americannoun
adjective
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of or relating to a household.
household furniture.
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for use in maintaining a home, especially for use in cooking, cleaning, laundering, repairing, etc., in the home.
a household bleach.
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common or usual; ordinary.
noun
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the people living together in one house collectively
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(modifier) of, relating to, or used in the running of a household; domestic
household management
Etymology
Origin of household
First recorded in 1350–1400, household is from the Middle English word houshold. See house, hold 1
Explanation
How many people does your house hold? That’s your household! A household refers to a family or group of people living together. It’s a social unit under one roof. All the people living in your house, including servants, make up your household. Don’t have any servants? Well, your roommates count as part of your household, too. In the middle of the night, your household might be asleep. Your household income could determine whether or not you get the pool in the backyard. Household can also be an adjective to describe — you guessed it — things that are in your house, like household appliances or household furniture.
Vocabulary lists containing household
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Life on Earth", released in 1979, has alone been watched by 500 million people worldwide, while dozens of documentaries and associated books have made him a household name.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
In recent months, the company had seen a dip in household spending on ready-to-drink shakes, “marking the first decline in buy rate in five years,” she said.
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents policy officer, Rhiain Reynolds, said "misuse of household appliances can have devastating consequences".
From BBC • May 4, 2026
Taylor Donoghue, 25, grew up outside Philadelphia in a household that was, as she put it, “Christian, but didn’t really go to church.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026
For the first time, families in Rochester had household staff, elegant evening clothes, and places to wear them.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
